Chapter Summaries

The narrator watched Lei Yinyin’s spirit wait for help after children found her corpse, but their mother and several adults instead used a ritual to bind her. The group carried her body away, leaving Lei Yinyin trapped and consumed by hatred until she sensed another hateful presence.

• Lei Yinyin’s transformation stopped when the children’s mother arrived, struck one child, and took the children away while claiming she would call the police.
• The narrator suspected the woman would hide the children’s involvement, and the police never came as Lei Yinyin waited until nightfall.
• The woman returned with eight others, including a bald man called Maowa, who directed them to pour dark red liquid around Lei Yinyin’s corpse and chant a spell.
• The ritual caused Lei Yinyin intense pain and bound her with red chains, while Maowa told the group to throw her body into a river.
• The group carried Lei Yinyin’s corpse away as an invisible force kept her spirit trapped, and hatred overwhelmed her thoughts.
• After an unknown amount of time, Lei Yinyin sensed another presence filled with hatred.

Lei Yinyin escaped the hillside where she had been trapped and tracked down the men connected to her death. She learned that they had died in a van crash, leaving their connection to her revenge unclear.

• Lei Yinyin offered Liu Haiqing freedom from the burning hillside in exchange for his help getting revenge, but he initially fled.
• Liu Haiqing returned with oil and set fire to the grass, freeing Lei Yinyin and allowing him to see her.
• Lei Yinyin traveled to a rural village and searched a house before questioning children at an internet cafe about three men with a beat-up minivan.
• Ergouzi identified the three men as his father and uncles, and another boy said they had died in a mountain van crash along with some children.
• Ergouzi attacked the boy in the tank top after he reached for Lei Yinyin's money.

Lei Yinyin searched for her enemies, only to discover that most had died before she could take revenge. When the last enemy also died, the blood-soaked road consumed her and transformed her into a bloodthirsty evil spirit, drawing the narrator into her thoughts.

• Lei Yinyin learned that the traffickers were dead and left Ergouzi and his mother alone.
• Lei Yinyin followed the blood-soaked road to find her other enemies, but discovered that they had also died.
• An old woman explained that Leilei's mother and several others had died in a recent car accident.
• Lei Yinyin found the old man who had used the spell on her, but he died before she could take revenge.
• The blood-soaked road engulfed Lei Yinyin, and its savage energy awakened her desire to kill.
• Lei Yinyin's thoughts and the blood's energy invaded the narrator's mind, urging them to kill everyone.

A woman whose identity and memories were fading let Liu Haiqing guide her to Ximen Wenhao so she could take revenge on his behalf. After marking Ximen with yin energy, she named herself Huashan and instructed Liu Haiqing to draw an outline that would cause Ximen to die.

• The woman met Liu Haiqing, who blamed Ximen Wenhao for taking his chance to study abroad and surpassing him in life.
• Liu Haiqing led the woman to a hotel, where they watched Ximen Wenhao leave with his wife and teenage children.
• The woman approached Ximen, spoke to him as a junior, and touched his shoulder, leaving yin energy around him as his family departed.
• The woman returned to Liu Haiqing, had him buy supplies, and chose the name Huashan after he told her the district was called Huashan.
• Huashan told Liu Haiqing to draw Ximen's outline on the ground so he would lie in it and die, and Liu Haiqing eagerly agreed.

Liu Haiqing drew a human outline at the hillside, and the narrator realized it would be enough to make Ximen Wenhao die in an apparent accident. After Liu Haiqing left, the narrator saw a procession of skinless corpses drifting along a river and was left wondering whom they wanted to kill.

• Liu Haiqing drew a human outline on the ground while planning to torture Ximen Wenhao.
• The narrator told Liu Haiqing that Ximen Wenhao would die there in an accident and that the traces at the scene would not matter.
• Liu Haiqing left, and the narrator experienced fragmentary memories and a headache.
• The narrator saw women walking on the river and realized they were skinless corpses, with their skin floating above their bodies.
• The corpses turned toward the narrator, smiled, and disappeared after asking whether the narrator had found the soul they wanted to kill.

The narrator watched Ximen Wenhao die, then used yin energy and a human outline drawn on the ground to cause Liu Haiqing’s death. After choosing another curious onlooker as the next target, the narrator was confronted by a pair of black eyes and warned that killing had become addictive.

• The narrator found Ximen Wenhao dead on Flower Mountain and watched his family grieve while Liu Haiqing reacted with relief.
• The narrator recalled guiding children to draw a human outline, which drew Liu Haiqing toward it and led to an air conditioner falling on him.
• The narrator noticed an amused onlooker and decided to kill him next, then watched yin energy force the man along a deadly route despite his attempts to escape.
• After witnessing the man’s death, the narrator sensed a familiar yin energy and heard a voice warn that they were becoming addicted to killing.

After waking from a dream about Lei Yinyin and Huashan, the narrator returned to the ruined Greenleaf Paranormal Agency and reflected on how much he had changed. He asked Ye Qing what kind of ghost she was now and what she would become.

• The narrator woke in bed as his sister checked on him, and he messaged Chen Xiaoqiu and Wu Ling to say he was safe.
• He remembered the dream’s violence and Huashan’s enjoyment of killing, leaving him emotionally shaken.
• The narrator went to the Greenleaf Paranormal Agency, recalling how he first became involved with its missing members and files.
• He entered the damaged agency, sat on the sofa, and recounted his dream about Lei Yinyin and Huashan.
• The narrator admitted that he too had felt the thrill of killing and asked Ye Qing what kind of ghost she was becoming.

After confronting the possibility that she might become a murderous ghost, the narrator waited for Greenleaf’s answer and received his lighter as a wordless response. She then talked with him about Heaven’s madness, and Greenleaf said she had finally stumbled onto the right answer.

• The narrator feared that after death she might lose control, forget her family, and become an evil ghost like Huashan.
• Greenleaf approached from behind and threw a lighter into the narrator’s lap, which she recognized as the one that had disappeared with the burned kimono.
• The narrator understood the lighter as Greenleaf’s answer and began telling him about recent supernatural incidents and asking what he thought about Heaven.
• The narrator wondered whether Heaven’s repeated madness was caused by something new or by a change in humanity.
• Greenleaf spoke for the first time and told the narrator she had finally stumbled onto the right answer.

The narrator pressed Ye Qing about Heaven’s nature and learned that it had once been a rule that developed human nature, but the narrator’s Truth or Dare had accidentally erased that humanity. Ye Qing explained that Heaven had become a collection of rules again, then hinted that this change would let them take action.

• The narrator questioned whether exposing the supernatural to ordinary people was a good thing, and Ye Qing initially stayed silent.
• After the narrator complained that Ye Qing kept withholding information, Ye Qing asked how the circle defined Heaven.
• The narrator reasoned that Heaven should be a rule without a personality or deliberate actions, and Ye Qing confirmed that it had developed human nature under unusual circumstances.
• Ye Qing revealed that the narrator’s Truth or Dare had accidentally erased Heaven’s human nature.
• Ye Qing explained that Heaven had returned to being a collection of rules that changed rapidly, and suggested there were now things they could do.

After leaving Ye Qing, the narrator discussed Chen Xiaoqiu’s plan to test the Thin Man’s ability by deceiving him during a group outing. The narrator agreed to speak with Wu Ling, while worrying that his growing indifference was changing him.

• Ye Qing gently told the narrator to leave, and the narrator reminded him about Reporter Yuan before departing.
• On the stairs, the narrator realized he no longer cared whether Reporter Yuan lived or died and feared that recent events had made him less human.
• The narrator considered Chen Xiaoqiu’s plan to use the Thin Man’s ability to help Chu Lan, warning that failure could make the Thin Man even harder to convince.
• Chen Xiaoqiu proposed using the narrator’s sister’s school registration as a natural outing where Greenleaf’s people could deceive the Thin Man without his noticing.
• The narrator agreed to talk with Wu Ling, while reflecting that his family and friends were what kept him human.

Wu Ling told the narrator how Chu Lan’s acquaintances had died and revealed that Luo Yonghao had saved Chu Lan and might have murdered Li Shuangbai. She explained that Luo Yonghao carried a ghostly aura, then Gu Mo warned that everyone present had one strong enough to make them likely to become ghosts after death.

• Wu Ling recounted how Lin Chen’s boyfriend accidentally killed her, then attacked Chu Lan before Luo Yonghao broke in and rescued her.
• Wu Ling revealed that Luo Yonghao was the child from the “Death Position” file, whose father had been killed by a female ghost.
• Wu Ling said Luo Yonghao cared for Chu Lan after her mental breakdown and suspected he had murdered Li Shuangbai, though she had no evidence.
• Wu Ling explained that Luo Yonghao’s ghostly aura suggested a likelihood of becoming a ghost after death.
• Gu Mo told the narrator that everyone present had an exceptionally strong ghostly aura and was likely to become a ghost after dying.

Wu Ling and the others discussed Luo Yonghao’s dangerous nature and the uncertain effect of the curse on him and Chu Lan. The group learned that the Wu family once had a powerful magical vessel called a Feiren, and Nangong Yao suggested Mr. Tan might be able to make one.

• Gu Mo said the ghosts were growing stronger and argued that the world knowing about them might prevent people from courting danger.
• Wu Ling explained that Nangong Yao sensed Luo Yonghao was dangerous and might become a serial killer, possibly because of what he had suffered.
• Wu Ling outlined two possible ways the curse could be affecting Luo Yonghao, and the group considered whether it had already taken effect or required one more death.
• Wu Ling described Feiren, a living person used as a vessel for magic, and said the Wu family had abandoned the practice after its last Feiren killed relatives and died.
• Nangong Yao asked whether Mr. Tan’s ability could be used to make a Feiren.

The narrator learned that Chu Lan was being held in a hospital room by Luo Yonghua while the ghosts of her dead friends tormented her with talk of their deaths and her relationship. After seeing the footage, the narrator heard an unfamiliar woman’s voice promising that the ghosts would keep Chu Lan and Luo Yonghua together forever.

• Wu Ling proposed using a puppet with Mr. Tan’s ability, and Gu Mo planned to draw the skinny guy into watching by having the narrator pretend to be asleep.
• Wu Ling told the narrator to meet Chu Lan and Luo Yonghua and prepare Mr. Tan and the others for what they might see.
• Nangong Yao showed the narrator surveillance footage of Chu Lan restrained in a hospital room, surrounded by the ghosts of Sun Jiayue, Tang Zhuoxi, Wang Mingli, Lin Chen, and Li Shuangbai.
• Luo Yonghua tenderly wiped Chu Lan’s face while she cried, begged for help, and asked him to kill her.
• Wu Ling explained that the ghosts discussed how their deaths had helped Chu Lan and Luo Yonghua get together, while Luo Yonghua alone continued visiting Chu Lan.
• After Luo Yonghua left, the five ghosts crowded around Chu Lan, and the narrator heard a woman’s voice promise to keep her and Luo Yonghua together forever.

Lin Qi experienced Chu Lan’s terrifying escape from three female ghosts, who delivered her to Luo Yonghua despite her resistance. After seeing the ghosts’ malicious reaction to him, Lin Qi woke beside Wu Ling, Nan Gongyao, and Gu Mo, then collapsed into darkness.

• Lin Qi saw Chu Lan flee the three ghosts, who followed her through the street and into a police car.
• At the police station, the ghosts guided the officer to contact Chu Lan’s boyfriend, Luo Yonghua, and held Chu Lan still when she tried to resist him.
• Luo Yonghua took Chu Lan away, listened as she confessed to the love-prayer curse, and dismissed her claims that ghosts were in the car.
• The three ghosts smiled at Luo Yonghua and sensed that Chu Lan was in danger, while he drove her away.
• Lin Qi jolted awake beside Wu Ling, Nan Gongyao, and Gu Mo, then lost consciousness.

In a clear dream, the narrator followed Li Shuangbai through her memories and watched her go out for a night run as an ominous aura gathered around her. The chapter ended with three female ghosts restraining Li Shuangbai in the dark while Luo Yonghua’s laughter approached.

• The narrator recognized Li Shuangbai and learned about her strained feelings over her older sister Li Xuebai’s advice about dating and her own worries about Chu Lan and the dead.
• Li Shuangbai left for a night run, and a call from her roommate Shu Jie added to her frustration about her uncertain living situation.
• Li Shuangbai ran out of her residential complex, developed a cramp, and took a dark shortcut as streetlights began going out around her.
• Wang Mingli tripped Li Shuangbai, and three female ghosts seized her while Luo Yonghua’s laughter drew closer.

The narrator witnessed Luo Yonghua kill Li Shuangbai, then saw the female ghosts torment Chu Lan by revealing Luo Yonghua’s past and threatening to remain with her forever. The scene ended in a hospital room, where October appeared and greeted the narrator as a strange soul.

• The narrator recognized Luo Yonghua’s twisted ghostly aura as he stabbed Li Shuangbai to death, then watched him flee when her ghost appeared.
• The scene shifted to Chu Lan’s hospital room, where Li Shuangbai and the other female ghosts confronted her about her relationship with Luo Yonghua.
• The female ghosts revealed that Luo Yonghua’s father had been killed by a female ghost and that Luo Yonghua had once nearly killed someone himself.
• The female ghosts threatened that Wu Dai’an would join them and that they would stay with Chu Lan even after she died, causing Chu Lan to cry out for help.
• October appeared at the hospital room entrance, met the narrator’s gaze, and called them a strange soul.

The narrator spoke with October, who wanted help traveling back in time to recover his lost memories, while October shared his suspicions about the curse affecting Chu Lan and Luo Yonghua. October left the narrator with the possibility that he had once practiced the supernatural arts.

• October asked whether the narrator could travel through time and take other souls along, then explained that he had forgotten his life and wanted to return to the funeral home to learn who he was.
• The narrator refused to take October through time, insisting that he could barely control his own ability.
• Luo Yonghua entered Chu Lan's hospital room, and October remarked that something about Luo Yonghua had made the love-related curse sick and twisted.
• October admitted he knew a few things about curses but could not remember why, and guessed that he might once have been a Taoist priest, fortune-teller, or another kind of practitioner.

The narrator dreamed of October, a ghost with no memories, and learned that he could not help October recover them. As the group prepared for the next day's plan, the narrator visited his sister and was left uneasy by a forgotten concern.

• October offered to help the narrator and asked him to tell him if he learned anything about his past, but the narrator said he could not help him recover his memories.
• After waking, the narrator told Wu Ling, Gu Mo, and Nangong Yao about October, and they discussed where he might have been buried and the suspicious circumstances of his death.
• Wu Ling advised the narrator to focus on the next day's plan and explained that abilities improved through use, with obsession possibly affecting their strength.
• The narrator contacted Chen Xiaoqiu to coordinate the plan, then visited his sister as she packed for Minqing University.
• The narrator watched his sister's film and felt that something was about to surface, but he could not recall what he had forgotten before the appointed time arrived the next day.

The narrator accompanied his younger sister to Minqing University to register, while Fatty reported that Xue Jingyue had sensed something strange involving a fingernail. As the family reached her dorm, a student was reported to have jumped, and the narrator noticed an unusual reaction from a girl and a woman across the courtyard.

• The narrator reassured his anxious younger sister about meeting her roommates and reminded her to avoid supernatural activities.
• Fatty told the narrator that Xue Jingyue had sensed something odd and seen what looked like a fingernail.
• The narrator, his family, and their friends drove to Minqing University and helped his sister register and carry her luggage to the seventh-floor dormitory.
• A scream outside announced that someone had jumped, and Chen Xiaoqiu and the narrator went to look from the neighboring room's balcony.
• The narrator saw a girl and a woman collapsed on the opposite dormitory balcony, but he and Chen Xiaoqiu detected no yin energy or ghost.

A freshman’s apparent suicide at Minqing University unsettled Chen Pi and his family as they moved his sister into her dorm. After learning the dead girl may have been Huang Anxin, whose past involved damaging rumors and a changed identity, Chen Pi and his companions left to investigate.

• Chen Pi heard that a freshman had jumped from a building and worried that the death might become a supernatural threat to his sister.
• Wang Mengmeng told the family that people believed the girl had jumped intentionally, while the family finished settling Chen Pi’s sister into her dorm.
• Liu Qing arrived with her boyfriend Zhang Xiangyang and said she recognized the dead girl, whom she identified as Huang Anxin, a former student targeted by scandalous rumors.
• The Thin Man questioned whether the identification was reliable after Liu Qing described conflicting names and photographs on the girl’s documents.
• Chen Pi called Wu Ling to postpone their plans, then saw his parents off and returned his sister to the dorm.
• Chen Xiao Qiu urged Chen Pi, the Thin Man, and the Fatty to go see what was happening at the scene.